Support brace



Nov. 7, 1967 v R. c. HOTH 3,351,189

SUPPORT BRACE Filed April 1, 1966 n FIG. 2 I3 1.\"VENTO,R.

Attorney United States Patent Office 3,351,189 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 3,351,189 SUPPORT BRACE Robert C. Hoth, Elmhurst, 111., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 539,408 1 Claim. (C1. 206-46) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A packaged refrigerator including a shipping carton containing a refrigerator having aa shipping skid secured to the bottom thereof is provided with a brace for supporting the door relative to the skid. The brace includes a body portion positioned between the lower edge of the door and the skid and a flap extending from the body portion. The flap includes an end section extending downwardly over the edge of the skid between the skid and carton for locking the body portion in position.

This invention relates to support braces used for packaging, and more particularly, to a brace used for supporting a member not sufficiently strong enough to retain itself in position when subjected to impact and shock forces which arise during transit.

While not limited thereto, my invention is particularly adapted for use in packaging large domestic appliances such as refrigerators or the like, in which a door is supported by hinges on one side of a cabinet. Conventionally, the cabinet has been rigidly secured to a bottom skid, and then a support block has been fixedly disposed between the skid and the bottom of the door on the side opposite the hinges; the support block preventing movement of the door about its hinges which might shear the hinge pins, or tear the hinges from the cabinets.

The support blocks presently used are nailed or glued into place to prevent their shifting laterally from between the skid and the door structure while the cabinet is in transit. This is a relatively costly process, in that additional manufacturing steps and materials are needed to permanently insert the brace in position. In addition, a double supply of blocks is required, as the blocks are not universally formed and a different block is needed depending on whether the door is hinged on the right or left-hand side.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a support brace that is capable of being easily locked in place by the surrounding carton to prevent slippage of the brace from its supporting position as a result of handling during transit; and yet the locking effect is of a non-permanent nature, in that there is no need to nail, tape or glue the support in place when packaging the article.

. It is a further object of my invention to provide a support brace for a cabinet having a hinged door thereon, the brace being of a universal configuration so that it may be used in packaging cabinets having either a right or left-hand hinged door, without requiring a separate supply of braces for each type.

In one aspect of my invention, I provide a brace for supporting a first member, which may be a cabinet having a door thereon, in a predetermined fixed location with a respect to a second member, which may be a shipping skid to which the cabinet is secured; and which simultaneously maintains the first member in a pre-determined spaced relationship with respect to a surrounding carton. The second member has a surface thereon adapted to contact the carton when the carton is disposed thereabout. The brace has a body portion adapted to be juxtaposed between the first and second members, and includes at least one flap extending from the body portion. The flap has a crease thereon so as to divide the flap into two sections, the first of the sections extending from the body portion and adapted to extend to the edge of the second member. The second section is easily folded about the crease to provide a locking tab which is adapted to extend over the edge of the second member and thereby overlap the surface thereof adapted to contact the carton, so that when the carton is disposed about the first and second members, the locking tab will be interposed between the contact surface of the second member and the carton, and the flap will be locked in position to thereby preclude movement of the body portion from between the first and second members so long as the carton is disposed about the members.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. My invention, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof, can best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective, and shOWs a cabinet mounted on a skid with the support brace in position prior to enclosing the cabinet with a surrounding carton;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial end view taken along the lines 22 of FIGURE 1, and illustrates the support brace in its locked position;

FIGURE 3 is a view in perspective of the support brace of my invention;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are views in perspective and illustrate the support brace when used with either a right, or left-hand hinged door, respectively;

FIGURE 6 is a partial view in perspective and illustrate the support brace locked in position, and other reinforcing structure disposed thereabout;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged plan view taken along the lines 77 of FIGURE 6, and also illustrates the position of the support brace with the carton locking the brace in the desired position.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a cabinet 1, which, for reference purposes only, may be designated a refrigerator, as that is one of the products my present assignee currently manufactures and for which my brace is presently being used. Refrigerator 1 has a door 2 hinged about its right-hand side as by hinges 3. Below the door is a grille 4 which permits passage of air to the machinery compartment of the refrigerator.

When packaging the refrigerator 1 for shipping, a wood skid having parallel side legs 5 and 6 is suitably secured to the bottom of the refrigerator in a conventional manner. It is then necessary to support the handle side of the door to insure that the door will not move relative to the hinge pins during loading and unloading and transit of the refrigerator. Accordingly, a support brace designated generally by numeral 7, is inserted between the skid 5 and the underside of door 2, on the side opposite the hinges 3.

A particular support brace embodying my invention is shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. Referring to FIGURE 3, the support brace 7 includes central portion 8 which has a generally triangular cross section; the reason for the triangular shape will be explained herebelow. Central portion 8 has two allochirally shaped flaps 9 and 10 extending therefrom. Each flap 9 and 10 has two creases 11 and 12 thereon so that the flaps may be easily folded to the configurations shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, depending on Whether the brace 7 is to be used with a rightor left-hand hinged door.

The first crease 11 in each flap permits the flap to be folded about the triangular central portion 8, so that the flap which is not being used for locking the brace 7 in position-may be folded out of the way as shown in the drawing. The second crease 12 in each flap permits the flap to be easily folded along the proper line to provide a locking tab 13 which locks the support brace 7 in the desired position in a manner explained herebelow.

Referring now to FIGURES 2, 6 and 7, the further packaging steps and the novel manner of locking the support brace 7 in position will be described. The support brace 7 is inserted between door 2 and skid leg with the inclined face of the center portion 8 facing away from the cabinet, and the flap 9 extending outwardly therefrom. The brace is properly sized so that crease 12 is contiguous with the top front edge of skid leg 5 when the brace is in position. The locking tab 13 is then folded downwardly over the front face of the skid as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 6.

After inserting the brace 7 below the door 2 as illustrated in FIGURE 1, a triangular corner support 14 is placed along the corner of the cabinet and overlying the edge of the door. The corner support 14 is required by various shipping codes to provide suitable support for loads which may be placed above the carton, so that the cartons may be stored vertically without fear of buckling and subsquent injury to the articles within the cartons; the triangular shape is desirable as it provides adequate strength and yet is economical. to produce. As seen in FIGURES 6 and 7, the inclined face of the triangular corner support complements and abuts the inclined face of the center section 8 of brace 7, so that the brace properly spaces the corner support away from the cabinet and at the corner of the skid leg 5.

The bottom of the triangular side support 14 abuts the top of flap 9, and the panel 14A extending from the corner support continues along the side of cabinet 1 and abuts the top of skid leg 5. A suitably sized sleeve or carton 15 is then disposed about the entire cabinet structure including the skid legs 5 and 6, and the triangular corner support 14, as shown in FIGURE 7. A band 16 is secured about the carton to fasten it in place. When the carton 15 is disposed about the cabinet, the locking tab 13 is sandwiched between the carton 15 and the end of skid leg 5. When the carton is banded, the compression of the carton against the tab 13 and skid leg locks the tab in position, and thereafter precludes transverse movement of the brace 7 relative to the cabinet or skid. So long as the carton remains intact, the support brace 7 will be locked in position to support the door and prevent movement of the door relative to its hinges.

By providing the two flaps, 9 and 10, extending from the central block 8, it is possible to use the same brace for packaging either a right or left-hand hinged door. By folding the flaps to the position shown in FIGURE 4, the brace may be used under a right-hand hinged door and will be inserted as shown in FIGURES 1 and 6. If the brace is to be used under a left-hand hinged door, the extended flaps will be folded to the positions shown in FIGURE 5, and may thereafter be inserted in a like manner on the opposite skid leg 6. The locking tab 13 will be interposed between the skid leg and the outer carton and thus locked into position in the manner heretofore described.

The central support section 8 may be made of wood, corrugated board, or any other suitable material presently used for packaging purposes. The entire support brace 7, including the central portion 8, may be made of a single sheet of corrugated board folded to give the proper central configuration and leaving the two external flaps as illustrated in FIGURE 3; or the central section 8 may be made of a separate material and then fastened to a sheet of corrugated board to provide the two outwardly extending flaps.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided an improved support brace for packaging cabinets or other articles in which there is a suspended structure not sufficiently strong enough to retain itself in position when subjected to impact and shock forces acting on the article during loading or unloading and transit thereof. My support brace provides a simple but efficient locking structure as an integral member thereof, so that the brace is easily mounted during packaging of the article, and is firmly held in place without the use of glue, tape, or nails as has been conventional heretofore. In addition, my invention is suitable for use in packaging cabinets wherein the door may be supported on opposite sides of the cabinet, as the universal feature of the brace achieves a great economy in time and materials.

While the illustrated brace has a triangular cross section with two extending fiaps, the concept of my invention may be adapted for use with a central section having any suitable cross section relative to the members which are to be supported. In addition, one flap having a single crease thereon to provide a locking tab therefor may be used in those instances where the reversibility of the brace is not necessary.

While the embodiment described herein includes a cabinet secured to a separate skid, it is evident that my brace may be disposed between any two members, so long as one of the members has a surface thereon which is adapted to be in direct contact with an enclosing carton, so that the tab may be folded thereover and thus locked in position when the carton is sealed.

While there has been described what is at present thought to be the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as 'fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

A package comprising a carton containing a refrigerator cabinet including a door hinged at one side to the cabinet, said cabinet having a removable skid secured to the bottom thereof, said skid including an edge surface adapted to contact a vertical wall of said carton, a brace for supporting said door in predetermined fixed location with respect to said skid and said carton,

said brace comprising:

(a) a body portion juxtaposed between the bottom edge of said door and said skid member;

(b) a flap extending from the bottom of said body portion, said flap having a crease thereacross so as to divide said flap into two sections;

(i) the first of said sections extending from said body portion to said edge surface of said skid;

(ii) the second of said sections being folded about said crease to provide a tab extending downwardly over said edge surface of said skid between said skid and said carton whereby said tab is interposed between said skid and said carton and is locked in position to thereby preclude movement of said body portion from between said door and skid.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,086,698 4/1963 Wiedenmeier 229-14 3,101,166 8/1963 Van Antwerpen 229-14 3,220,683 11/1965 Doll 229-14 2,967,009 1/1961 Lidgard 229-14 3,235,065 2/1966 Deeren 229-14 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner. 

